The insanity of skyrocketing gas prices has gotten alot of attention recently. I'm very lucky to be in st. paul, i found a station for 2.79 yesterday.

I've been investigating how to get more mileage out of my car, and one thing thats popped up in articles is the tornado air intake, that runs for like 70 bucks and is supposed to change the way air flows in your car's engine to make it more efficient....does anybody have any experience with these, and are they worth the money? I've been reading conflicting reviews, wondered if any real people know whats up with them.

I don't know about the tornado but I've talked to someone who put a K&N intake and filter and he said it added 1-2 mpg.

Realistically, I think the best that things you can do are the simple ones.

1. Make sure your tires are properly inflated. 2. Get a tune-up. 3. Don't drive if you don't have to. 4. Take everything you can out of your car (reduce weight). 5. Use the gas and the brake as little as possible. 6. Use cruise whenever possible (steady speed). 7. Use your air conditioning when driving over about 50 (more efficient at that speed than the drag from having your windows down).

I recently bought a second vehicle that is partly intended to be something fun to keep (it's an older convertible). However, part of my hurry to get it running well is that it is supposed to be able to get 50+ miles to the gallon v.s. the 18 my SUV gets...

I also am planning to buy a hybrid when the time to sell my truck comes. My personal hope is that Jeep will release a hybrid Grand Cherokee that uses their 6 cyl engine. They would need to add features like cylinder deactivation to the 6 but the increased mileage would make it my ideal vehicle.

Hybrid choices include. 06 Honda Civic (totally new design, better highway mileage than the Prius) Older Civic hybrid. Toyota Prius. Honda Accord Ford Escape (and Mercury variant) Toyota Highlander (my top pick at the moment, 4x4 and 30 MPG). Honda Insight Lexus RX 400h (SUV) GM claims to have a Silverado that is a hybrid but from what I've read I don't think it really counts and you can only get it in certain places.

Save your money Jay. Those 'amazing' gizmos have been around since at least the sixties. I'm surprised that someone hasn't added magnets to them to more precisely 'align the ions in the gasoline and release all that wasted energy'. That was another pseudo-scientific product claim. The bottom line is that automakers, with the pressures to develop more efficient engines, would have long ago incorporated those, ahem, technologies had they been legitimate. If there is any good news for me to come out of rising gas prices, it's that it is helping my 'need a Harley again' argument with my lovely wife.

When you wish upon a falling star, your dreams can come true. Unless it's really a meteorite hurtling to the Earth which will destroy all life. Then you're pretty much hosed no matter what you wish for. Unless it's death by meteor.

There was a show on the "Speed" channel about gas milage. That 'expert' said by driving 55 on a 65 mph freeway will improve gas milage by 14 per cent. Also this friend of mine who drives a larger Honda motorcycle said the miles he was able to travel on a full tank, he was getting on a half tank by going 45 on the freeway. He said people were flipping him off and yelling obscenities at him for going that slow, but wanted to test the theory. The question is whether or not you want to leave earlier and save, or travel like the the good old days and pay for it. Life if full of choices.

if you're willing to pay the tremendous fine if you get caught, you can take off your muffler and use a broom handle to break out the guts of your catalytic converter. a former employer told me all about it.

Baby, you know if you’re not beautiful /Just cover it up /With make-up kits and perforated scalpel seams,/ We’ll do you right up/ I’m so obsessed with looking like celebrities/ Make myself throw up /But it’s all right cause one day I know I’ll be fine/ like everyone else.

How would mutilating the catalytic converter help mileage? As I understand it just super heats exhaust that has already been exhausted from the engine so to change its chemical composition to a less harmless nature.

If all the atheists left the United States it would lose 93% of the National Academy of Sciences but less than 1% of the prison population.

A catalytic converter and muffler add resistance to the exhaust. It's the same reason an after-market exhaust that is larger will improve performance. The easier it is for exhaust to get out the more power the engine can create (to a point).

I have reciently traveled some roads in eastern Minn. and the roads where terrible, even their 4 lane highway. I may pay more for gas here in Wisconsin but there is a lot less wear and tear on my vechicals.